"GREAT MONSTER WAR" HAPPY NEW YEAR: 1967 Godzilla & Rodan Footprint New Year's Cards

怪獣賀年状、週刊少年サンデー 昭和42年1月28日号 付録！


Page from Shonen Sunday's New Year's Kaiju Special, January 1967.

WISHING ALL OF YOU A HAPPY KAIJU NEW YEAR! May All of Your Kaiju Be Little Ones...

今怪獣年も宜しくお願いします！


From the January 28, 1967 issue of Weekly Shonen Sunday magazine.

(Image courtesy of Yoshitaka Chiba)

HOSTING SHOUT'S "KAIJU MOVIE MARATHON" 24-Hours of Japanese Monster Movies and Me!

新番組『怪獣映画大会』登場！


The monstrous event starts this Saturday at Midnight, Eastern Time!

Prepare yourselves for something monstrous on July 18th...

Shout! Factory TV has teamed up with the original monster fan magazine, Famous Monsters of Filmland, to bring you the Kaiju Movie Marathon! Featuring nine classic Showa-era kaiju eiga (Japanese monster movies) from Toho Studios, spotlighting Godzilla, including hand-picked episodes of Tsuburaya Productions' ULTRA Q (1966) and ULTRA SEVEN (1967), streaming live for 24 hours on July 18th (from midnight to midnight Eastern Time). Hosted by Yours Truly!

Back in March, I was approached by a creative team at Shout! Factory to see if I wanted to be involved in this project, and I couldn't say no. Not only because this would be a fantastic opportunity, but because it was a chance to become a full, red-blooded, American Horror Host, just like my childhood hero, Bob Wilkins of "Creature Features" fame (if just for one day). They forwarded a rough script and told me to "make it your own." And that's exactly what I did.

We shot all of my segments in late June and I hope that everyone will enjoy them — I tried to keep it light, have fun with the material, but also be informative, drop some little known facts, and be completely respectful to the films and the genre (why wouldn't I? I love these films). I brought along some of my favorite Bullmark figures, several original movie posters, and some "Creature Features" tributes to decorate the set (shot at Chronicle Books in San Francisco).

Director Brian Blum, Cameraman Michael Bloom, and I had a blast!

This weekend's event will stream at www.shoutfactorytvlive.com. For mobile, tablet and connected TV devices the marathon is accessible via the Pluto TV app. The marathon is also available via Pluto TV (CH 427) in the living room (Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Android TV, Chromecast and Apple Airplay), on the go (apps for iOS, Android and Amazon) and at your fingertips on PCs, Macs via the web.

THE "KAIJU MOVIE MARATHON" SCHEDULE (All Times Eastern):

12:00 am — GODZILLA: The Uncut Japanese Original (1954)
01:45 am — ULTRA Q (1966)
05:15 am — ULTRA SEVEN (1967)
06:30 am — GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS (1954)
08:15 am — ULTRA SEVEN (1967)
09:00 am — RODAN (1956)
10:30 am — ULTRA SEVEN (1967)
11:15 am — GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN (1955)
12:45 pm — ULTRA SEVEN (1967)
01:30 pm — GODZILLA VS. THE THING (1964)
03:15 pm — GHIDRAH, THE THREE-HEADED MONSTER (1964)
05:00 pm — MONSTER ZERO (1965)
06:45 pm — GODZILLA'S REVENGE (1969)
08:15 pm — TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA (1975)
10:00 pm — Repeat: GODZILLA: The Uncut Japanese Original (1954)
11:45 pm — Repeat: GODZILLA'S REVENGE (1969)
01:15 am — Repeat: TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA (1975)

Just a note on the episodes I picked for this special presentation; all of them were not picked as the best of their respective series, but as the best of the kaiju-oriented episodes of each show. So, tune in for the kaiju calamity on July 18th, and live tweet with #godzilla. Shout! Factory TV and Famous Monsters of Filmland will be giving away prizes to fans and viewers of the marathon, including a $100 gift certificate for Shout! Factory merchandize.

In the words of Bob Wilkins, remember to "Watch Horror Films... Keep America Strong!"

(Viewers outside North America can view via Channel 427 on Pluto TV.)

「三大怪獣・地球最大の決戦」GHIDRAH: THE THREE-HEADED MONSTER (1964)

Publicity photoshoot blue color design for King Ghidorah.

GHIDRAH: THE THREE-HEADED MONSTER

San Daikaiju Chikyu Saidai-no Kessen, Toho, 1964, 85 minutes
Director ISHIRO HONDA • Visual Effects Director EIJI TSUBURAYA

"Three Giant Monsters: The Greatest Battle on Earth" (the film's Japanese title) was planned to feature all three of their biggest monster stars, Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra, who would team up to fight a new, and extraterrestrial menace. With the aim to appeal to general audiences, the narrative takes on a fairy tale-style approach, and while it is far more light-hearted than MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA, it rather compliments the Honda-Tsuburaya film that preceded it into theaters, DOGORA: THE SPACE MONSTER (all released the same year), although it features one of the greatest monsters in all cinema.

Shinichi Sekizawa's screenplay is more fantasy-oriented, centering on an Eastern princess (a descendant of aliens) marked for assassination, and written to appeal to a broader audience than the previous films. Honda said to the late Guy Tucker, "When I make a monster film, I never think that it will be for children. I want to imagine and express a story [to a wide audience], but it's always children who are the most interested." While the other monsters are portrayed fairly de rigueur during the most of the film, they suddenly become anthropomorphic, "I don't think that monsters should be comical characters, the audience is more entertained when [the monsters] strike fear in the hearts of the [human] characters." But, despite this, Honda effortlessly sweeps the audience into the story, with assured and swift direction.

Then, there’s the star of the film. Perhaps the most inspired creature the studio ever conceived, King Ghidorah was the idea of scenarist Sekizawa, who only described the monster as having "three heads, two tails, and a metallic roar like a bell." Akira Watanabe, whose sketches combined the mythical Yamata-no-Orochi from Japanese legend and traditional Chinese Dragons, were faithfully brought to life by the prosthetic crew in Toho’s Visual Effects Department, designed the realization of King Ghidorah. According to legend, the triple threat was conceived to be a menacing crimson, while gold was favored by visual effects director, Eiji Tsuburaya. In color publicity photos after the suit was completed, he was painted blue, with red, gold, and blue-striped wings, but it was decided that blue would become problematic with Blue Screen matte process. There've been many conflicting stories concerning this, and no definitive answer, so far. Regardless, the interplanetary invader created such an impact on audiences, that it has since remained one of the most popular monsters ever created by Toho.

Yosuke Natsuki (b.1936), who had just come off of Honda's DOGORA, top-lines the cast as Detective Shindo. A former model, Natsuki, was preened as one of Toho’s new, young leads, and made a number of films in the 1960s. But, he wasn’t a flash-in-the-pan, either, and starred in numerous popular television series, such as G-MEN ’75 (1975-82). Almost twenty years after GHIDRAH, Natsuki returned to the kaiju eiga with Koji Hashimoto’s THE RETURN OF GODZILLA (1984) and more recently in Minoru Kawasaki’s MONSTER X STRIKES BACK: ATTACK THE G-8 SUMMIT (2008) - he also provided the voice of Commander DEUS in ULTRASEVEN X (2007). Still quite active, the veteran actor recently scored important roles in François Rotger’s THE PASSENGER (2005) and Shunichi Nagasaki’s BLACK BELT (2007).

The spunky, and very in-demand, Yuriko Hoshi (WARRING CLANS) stars as Shindo's sister, Naoko, an investigative reporter for a series called "Mysteries of the 20th Century." Ozu regular, Hiroshi Koizumi (DAUGHTERS, WIVES AND A MOTHER), once again plays the scientist, a geologist named "Professor Murai" (both actors seemingly carried over from their similar roles in MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA). The beautiful Akiko Wakabayashi (BANDITS ON THE WIND) plays the unifying character, "Princess Salno," who went on to appear in YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (1967). Her only starring role was in Luigi Filippo D'Amico’s AKIKO (1961). Originally, the assassin "Malmess" was to be played by actor Yoshio Tsuchiya (FUNERAL PROCESSION OF ROSES), but was held up on the lagging production of Akira Kurosawa's RED BEARD, and was replaced by character actor Hisaya Ito (A WOMAN’S LIFE).

Many of Tsuburaya's visual effects for the picture are thrilling, such as the birth of King Ghidorah, its awesome destruction of Yokohama and Tokyo, and the first battle between Godzilla and Rodan. His work here is as good as seen in MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA - with fantastic long shots of Godzilla and Rodan engaged in mortal combat - until battle reaches the slopes of Mt. Fuji. Here, the scenes between Godzilla and Rodan become static and stagey, oddly juxtaposed with fantastic shots of King Ghidorah’s wonton rampage, until Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra unite to drive off the interloper. The difference is somewhat jarring from the first half of the film, but Tsuburaya believed that this humanizing of the monsters would win over audiences.

Honda said, "I was hesitant to let Mothra act as the mediator... I felt that the monsters... were far too humanized." While the increasing anthropomorphic behavior of the colossi in the last quarter of the film seems to lower the bar that was set with MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA - it still doesn’t lower the entertainment value as a whole. Carried along by Maestro Akira Ifukube's wonderful fairy tale score (including a memorable song from The Peanuts), the visual treats of Tsuburaya, and the magnificence of King Ghidorah, GHIDRAH: THE THREE-HEADED MONSTER (the film's US title), is not only a memorable entry in the series, but also one of the most entertaining films of the kaiju eiga.

Executive Producer TOMOYUKI TANAKA Screenplay SHINICHI SEKIZAWA Production Design TAKEO KITA Cinematography HAJIME KOIZUMI Music AKIRA IFUKUBE Visual Effects Production Design AKIRA WATANABE Visual Effects Photography SADAMASA ARIKAWA [US Version] Additional Music and Sound Effects FILMSCORES INC. English Dialogue JOE BELLUCI Post-production Consultant RAY ANGUS

Starring YOSUKE NATSUKI (Detective Shindo) YURIKO HOSHI (Naoko Shindo) HIROSHI KOIZUMI (Professor Murai) AKIKO WAKABAYASHI (Princess Salno) HISAYA ITO (Malmess) AKIHIKO HIRATA (Chief Detective Okita) THE PEANUTS: EMI and YUMI ITO (The Little Beauties) and TAKASHI SHIMURA (Dr. Tsukamoto)

「空の大怪獣 ラドン」RODAN (1956)

The titular monster amidst the detailed miniature set of Fukuoka.

RODAN, THE FLYING MONSTER
Sora-no Daikaiju Radon, Toho, 1956, 82 minutes
Director ISHIRO HONDA • Visual Effects Director EIJI TSUBURAYA

With the success of the first two Godzilla films under his belt, Producer Tomoyuki Tanaka looked to create a new style of monster movie to be shot in color, and solicited a treatment from mystery writer, Ken Kuronuma, who was the one of the translators for the Japanese edition of Amazing Stories magazine. Kuronuma based the core of his treatment on the unexplained, real-life "Mantell Case" of 1948, in which veteran WW2 pilot, Captain Thomas F. Mantell of the Kentucky Air National Guard, died when his aircraft crashed during the pursuit of an Unidentified Flying Object. Such a scene figures prominently in the completed film, and is cited as one of the most memorable in RODAN — one of Toho's finest genre films.

Set on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu (but mostly shot on location in western Japan), RODAN was Toho's first color kaiju eiga featuring a screenplay, written by Takeshi Kimura and Takeo Murata, which centers on two lovers whom are mirrored with the Rodan. While not appearing in Kuronuma's treatment, the murderous super-sized dragonfly larvae, or Meganuron, were inspired by gargantuan ants in Gordon Douglas' THEM! (1954), and became another memorable element of the film. Honda's direction is solid and dramatic, and much less documentarian than GODZILLA (1954), with truly creepy scenes in the dark and claustrophobic coal mine sets, and beautiful panoramic photography of the breathtaking countryside vistas. Heading up the 2nd Unit was Jun Fukuda (1923-2000), who was promoted to director in 1960 with THE SECRET OF THE TELEGIAN, and later became well-known for his stylish gangster movies and outrageous fantasy films.

Toho trumpeted that RODAN starred the "Hopes for 1957," newcomers Kenji Sahara (b.1932) and Yumi Shirakawa (b.1936), who would be paired in several pictures together after RODAN, including THE MYSTERIANS (1957). After placing second in a Toho talent contest in 1953, Sahara was a bit player until RODAN, and summarily became one of the busiest actors at the studio, appearing in over twenty science fiction films. Still active, Sahara recently appeared in the Tsuburaya Productions television series ULTRAMAN NEXUS (2004). Joining Toho in 1956, the beautiful Shirakawa appeared in several of Honda's pictures, and is still acting today. A favorite of Hiroshi Inagaki and Akira Kurosawa, the late Akihiko Hirata (1927-1984) played "Dr. Kashiwagi" and many memorable roles in Toho fantasy films, starting with "Dr. Serizawa" in GODZILLA. Even today, Hirata continues to be one of the most recognizable faces in the history of the genre.

Tsuburaya's elaborate and spectacular visual effects took up 60% of the film's entire production budget, and it's all up there on screen — from beautiful matte paintings to highly detailed miniature sets — and is still quite effective a half-century later. One of his outstanding sequences is the destruction of the Saikai Bridge, a scene that could only be shot once. A matter of precise timing, his wire operators had to pull the Rodan prop over the 1/20 scale bridge, while other crew members pulled another series of wires to collapse the bridge. Shot with several cameras in tandem (a Tsuburaya technique shared by Kurosawa), it all went off perfectly in one take. The finely detailed miniature of the Iwata-ya department store in Fukuoka City (changed to Sasebo City in the U.S. version) was built with real reinforced steel beams, in order to support the weight of monster actor Haruo Nakajima and the 150-pound Rodan costume. Scenes featuring animation of the flying Rodan being pursued by the fighter plane, or streaking through the skies, are still staggeringly realistic.

Because of the international success of GODZILLA in 1956, the U.S. rights for RODAN were immediately acquired by the King Brothers (Maurice, Frank and Herman), who are today best remembered for RODAN (as well as Eugene Lourie's kaiju eiga-styled GORGO, 1961). Starting with a complete work print, several shots excised in the Japanese version were utilized, while the H-Bomb tests seen at the top of the film came from newsreel footage. The English dialogue was written and directed by David Duncan (1913-1999), best known for THE TIME MACHINE (1960). Voice talent included the venerable Keye Luke (KUNG FU) as "Shigeru" and Paul Frees (THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD) as "Nishimura," while a young George Takei, who took RODAN as a summer job — his first acting gig — provided the voice for "Professor Kashiwagi" ("…and at least ten other characters — I lost count!" he recalled). Upon its release in the U.S. in July 1957, RODAN became the highest-grossing science fiction film of that year.

Despite the extensive re-editing of the film (approximately ten minutes shorter than the Japanese, and the removal of some of Ifukube's score), the U.S. version benefits from Duncan's surprisingly poetic narration, especially as the Rodans are consumed in the fiery climax: "Like moths in those rivers of fire, they seemed almost to welcome the agonies of death. The last of their kind, masters of the air and earth, the strongest, swiftest creatures that ever breathed… now, they sank against the earth like weary children. Each had refused to live without the other. And so, they were dying together… I realize now, that by the narrowest of margins, man had proved himself the stronger. But, will it always be so? May not other and more terrible monsters, even now, be stirring in the darkness? And when, at last, they spring upon us, can we be certain to beat them back a second time? That answer lies in the future. Our fears, for now, have gone up in flame and smoke."

Executive Producer TOMOYUKI TANAKA Original Story KEN KURONUMA Screenplay TAKESHI KIMURA and TAKEO MURATA Production Design TATSUO KITA Cinematography ISAMU ASHIDA Film Editor KOICHI IWASHITA Music AKIRA IFUKUBE Visual Effects Production Design AKIRA WATANABE Visual Effects Photography SADAMASA ARIKAWA [US Version] Producers THE KING BROTHERS Film Editor ROBERT EISEN English Dialogue and Director DAVID DUNCAN

Starring KENJI SAHARA (Shigeru Kamura) YUMI SHIRAKAWA (Kiyo) AKIHIKO HIRATA (Professor Kyuichiro Kashiwagi) AKIO KOBORI (Police Chief Nishimura) YOSHIFUMI TAJIMA (Iseki, Seibu News) MINOSUKE YAMADA (Constable Ozaki) RINSAKU OGATA (Goro) and HIDEO MIHARA (Japan Air Self-Defense Forces Commander)